Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST)

The White House’s Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool is designed to assess how federal investments and policies may impact vulnerable communities and populations that are disproportionately affected by climate change and economic inequality. The tool collects and analyzs data on a variety of factors, including demographic characteristics, public health, and environmental risks, to identify areas that are most in need of support and intervention.

The screening process begins by mapping out areas with high concentrations of low-income and marginalized populations, as well as areas with significant environmental hazards such as air pollution, lead contamination, and flooding. This information is then overlaid with data on climate change impacts such as rising temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events to identify areas that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The tool also takes into account historical and ongoing environmental injustices, such as the disproportionate placement of hazardous waste sites in low-income and minority communities. By analyzing these various factors, the screening tool helps to prioritize federal investments and policies that can address the needs of these vulnerable communities and promote economic and environmental justice.

The tool ranks most of the burdens using percentiles. The tool uses datasets as indicators of burdens. The burdens are organized into categories. A census tract is tagged as disadvantaged on the CEJST map if is both (1) at or above the threshold for one or more environmental, climate, or other burdens, and (2) at or above the threshold for an associated socioeconomic burden. Socioeconomic threshold is if People in households where income is less than or equal to twice the federal poverty level, not including students enrolled in higher ed. Typically this corresponds to the 65th percentile. In addition, a census tract that is completely surrounded by disadvantaged communities and is at or above the 50% percentile for low income is also considered disadvantaged.

DOE LEAD

The Department of Energy (DOE) Low-Income Energy Affordability Data (LEAD) tool is designed to help policymakers, energy advocates, and researchers understand the energy burden faced by low-income households in the United States. The tool uses a variety of data sources to identify and tag census tracts with high concentrations of low-income households, as well as areas with high energy burdens, which are defined as the percentage of household income spent on energy bills.

The tool also uses data from the US Energy Information Administration to identify areas with high energy burdens. Specifically, the tool calculates the energy burden for each census tract by dividing the median energy bill by the median household income, and then tags census tracts with an energy burden of 6% or higher as “high energy burden.” By tagging census tracts with high concentrations of low-income households and high energy burdens, the DOE LEAD tool helps to identify areas where energy affordability is a significant issue, and where targeted energy assistance programs and policies may be needed to promote energy equity and affordability.

The trigger for energy burdened tracts is taken from the ACEEE research, wherein any tract where the average energy burden is greater than 6% is considered burdened. For this analysis, 94 census tracts are tagged.

Combined

Census Tract Comparison Table